SUMMARY:

 Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds; parents can help ensure their teens have the skills – and technology – to more safely take the wheel before heading out on prom night

 The Ford Driving Skills for Life website, www.drivingskillsforlife.com, offers a variety of tips on improving driving skills in four key areas that are estimated to lead to 60 percent of teen accidents

 Prom night is a special night for teens – with a little forethought and a few frank discussions, parents won't be so anxious as their kids spend an evening out on the town

CONTEXT / BACKGROUND:

Prom is a big night for teenagers, filled with glitter, glitz and high expectations. For parents, though, it can be a long evening fraught with nail-biting and worry that won't end until their teen returns home safely. Their worry has merit – in 2008, approximately 5,800 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In fact, the agency reports that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds.

TIPS FROM FORD TO KEEP TEENS SAFE
AND MOMS AND DADS FROM ANXIETY ATTACKS.

But parents can coach their teens on safe driving, make sure they know that drinking and driving is illegal, and find other ways to help them become more confident behind the wheel. The comprehensive Ford Driving Skills for Life website, www.drivingskillsforlife.com, is chock-full of car care and driving safety tips for both teens and parents.

DETAILS:

The numbers show that the severity of a crash increases when alcohol is involved. In 2008, 22 percent of 15- to 20-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking.

Texting while driving is another area of concern. Ford research shows that teens do not have the experience that allows them to self-limit tasks while driving. NHTSA estimates that distracted driving, including the use of nomadic electronic devices, may be involved in some capacity in up to 80 percent of road collisions.

For so many teens, prom night isn't a time to dwell on safety. It means fancy dresses, smart tuxes, and an exciting night out. But parents know that anytime is a good time to offer their young driver guidelines for the road:

 Buckle up! Remind your teenager again and again how important that single little click can be. Statistics show that seat belt usage is lowest among teenagers, even though seat belts continue to be proven as the No. 1 life-saving device in accidents.

 Don't drink and drive. You may assume your teen knows this, but it's worth a sit-down talk. Make sure your teen knows the dangers of driving under the influence – or getting into a vehicle with someone who's been drinking.

 No text zone. Remind your teen driver to avoid distractions such as texting, loud music and any activities that take their eyes away from the road for extended periods of time. Research shows this combination significantly increases the risk of accidents.

 Take a drive. Is your son or daughter taking the car that night? Drive the route with him or her; make sure they know exactly where they're going and limit the number of passengers who will be in the car at all times.

 Renting a limo? Check the safety record of the limo company. Make sure the company you (or the kids) are renting from has a reputable history.

 Set a check-in time and curfew. Have the couple call you when the dance is over, or when they're changing venues, so you know where they are at all times. Set a curfew. Make sure your teens know when you expect them home, and make sure they know it's not debatable.

DEARBORN -- Ford is making its vehicles more eco-friendly through increased use of renewable and recyclable materials such as the soy and bio-based seat cushions and seatbacks on the 2010 Ford Taurus.

Ford vehicles are now 85 percent recyclable by weight. In 2009, Ford saved approximately $4.5 million by using recycled materials, and diverted between 25 and 30 million pounds of plastic from landfills in North America alone.

“By increasing the use of recycled or renewable content and reducing the use of undesirable materials whenever possible, we’re helping to reduce waste to landfills by millions of pounds – and we’re doing it around the world,” said John Viera, Ford’s director of Sustainability and Environmental Policy. “More than ever before, the spirit of ONE Ford that drives our global product strategy also drives our commitment to sustainability.”

The 2010 Ford Taurus is the eleventh Ford vehicle to feature earth-friendly bio-based seat cushions and seatbacks. Ford has more vehicle models with seats that use soy and other bio-based foams than any other automaker. Ford Mustang, F-150, Focus, Flex, Escape, Expedition and Econoline as well as Mercury Mariner, Lincoln MKS and Navigator also use the sustainable material.

“We already have bio-based foam on more than 2 million vehicles and we’re looking to convert 100 percent of our fleet to it in the future,” said Jerry Brown, Ford chief engineer of seat and restraint engineering. “This is just one way that Ford is advancing the use of eco-friendly materials in the industry.”

Ford’s “reduce, reuse and recycle” commitments are part of the company’s broader global sustainability strategy to reduce its environmental footprint while accelerating the development of advanced fuel-efficient vehicle technologies around the world.

Building in green materials
For the past several years, Ford has concentrated on increasing the use of non-metal recycled and bio-based materials, including:

 Bio-based (such as soy) polyurethane foams on the seat cushions, seatbacks and headliners on 11 vehicle models. The 2 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles on the road today with bio-foam seats equates to a reduction in petroleum oil usage of approximately 1.5 million pounds

 Post-consumer recycled resins such as detergent bottles, tires and battery casings used to make underbody systems, such as aerodynamic shields, splash shields and radiator air deflector shields. The latest example is the engine cam cover on the 3.0-liter V-6 2010 Ford Escape. As a result, Ford has diverted between 25 and 30 million pounds of plastic from landfills

 Post-industrial recycled yarns for seat fabrics on vehicles such as the Ford Escape and Escape Hybrid. A 100 percent usage of recycled yarns can mean a 64 percent reduction in energy consumption and a 60 percent reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the use of new yarns

 Repurposed nylon carpeting made into nylon resin and molded into cylinder head covers for Ford’s 3.0-liter Duratec® engine. The industry’s first eco-friendly cylinder head cover is used in the 2010 Ford Fusion and Escape

 The automotive industry’s first application of wheat straw-reinforced plastic for the third-row storage bins of the 2010 Ford Flex. The natural fiber replaces energy-inefficient glass fibers commonly used to reinforce plastic parts

In support of Ford’s global product development strategy, material engineers are developing standardized specifications for sustainable materials while working with parts purchasers and suppliers to use eco-friendly components in different markets.

For example, the European Ford Focus uses recycled polymer in such components as the battery tray, wheel arch liners, seat fabric and carpets. Materials engineers are in the process of determining if recycled polymer can be used for similar components in the global Focus coming to North America and Europe in 2011.

“Sustainable materials need to meet the same high standards for quality, durability and performance as virgin material; there can be no compromise on product quality,” said Valentina Cerato, Ford materials engineer in Europe.

What the future holds
Materials researchers continue to explore sustainable material applications, such as an eco-friendly replacement for the fiberglass used between the headliner and roof sheet metal that will be bio-based, lighter weight, and will deliver improved acoustics and neutralize odor.
In addition, Ford researchers are developing natural-fiber composites as a potential substitute for the glass fibers traditionally used in plastic car parts to make them stronger while reducing vehicle weight, which helps improve fuel economy and reduces emissions. Natural fiber composites also are more eco-friendly, because their production and end-of-life incineration are less energy intensive than glass fibers, which also results in lower emissions.

Ford researchers also are investigating ways to use plastics made entirely from sustainable resources such as corn, sugar beets, sweet potatoes and other vegetables. These renewable materials will help reduce dependency on petroleum, reduce CO2 emissions and allow the composting of the material at the end of a vehicle’s life.

“Natural fiber-reinforced plastics and plant-based polymer resins help reduce CO2 emissions by being entirely compostable, and in some cases reduce weight, which helps improve fuel economy,” said Debbie Mielewski, technical leader, Ford Plastics Research. “We have to entertain the thought of bio-replacement in baby steps, looking at every aspect of a car that could be green. One day I hope to see the world of automotive plastics go totally compostable, removing petroleum by 100 percent.”

What comes out
Automobiles are among the most recycled consumer products in the world. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 95 percent of all end-of-life vehicles in the U.S. are processed for recycling – compared to 52 percent of all paper and 31 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles.

In Europe, automakers are required to take back the vehicles they’ve produced at the end of the vehicles’ useful lives. Ford has end-of-life recycling networks for its vehicles in 16 European markets and participates in industry collective systems in another 10. In 2007, Ford became one of the first automakers in Europe to be certified in compliance with end-of-life requirements, including:

 Design and produce vehicles that facilitate the dismantling, reuse, recovery and recycling of them at end-of-life

 Reduce the use of hazardous substances when designing vehicles

 Increase the use of recycled materials in vehicle manufacture

 Ensure that parts do not contain mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadmium or lead

Reuse is a big part of the recycling story. Auto recyclers supply more than one third of all ferrous scrap to the U.S. scrap processing industry. When manufacturers use scrap iron and steel instead of newly produced ore, they reduce air and water pollution by more than half during the manufacturing process.

“In theory, end-of-life vehicles are nearly 100 percent recoverable. In practice, however, the cost in energy and labor to recover all vehicle material often exceeds the value of the materials and offers insignificant value to the environment,” Viera said. “We remain focused on achieving the highest economically viable and environmentally sound recovery percentage possible

By John Fossen
DEARBORN – Customer satisfaction with Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles increased four points to 84 percent and now leads all full-line manufacturers, according to the latest U.S. quality study by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. The first-quarter 2010 Global Quality Research System (GQRS) survey of customers also showed that Ford has an unsurpassed level of things-gone-wrong among full-line manufacturers. To access the full 2010 1Q GQRS study press release, click here.

Ford's steadily improving quality and customer satisfaction are translating to stronger metrics throughout the purchase funnel. Based on the Quarter 1 2010 Brand Equity and Awareness Tracking (BEAT) study by Morpace of Farmington Hills, Mich., the Ford brand is now comparable to Toyota for Consideration, Shopping and Intention, and leads Toyota and Honda in Intended Loyalty.

Stable perceptions of Lincoln's year-on-year performance helped it achieve best results versus Lexus. While Mercury year-on-year performance remained stable, cross-consideration of the brand is growing as customer interaction between Mercury and competitive brands increases.

Stronger brand perception is having a significant impact in dealer showrooms. In March, sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles jumped 43 percent, matching a similar increase in February. In addition, the company has gained retail share in 17 of the last 18 months.

"People are discovering that the Ford difference is the strength of our fresh new product lineup, especially our leadership in quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart technologies and value," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing Sales and Service.

Get a No-charge Premium Maintenance Package when you buy or lease a Lincoln or Mercury from Island! Check out this video for more details on this exclusive online offer!

http://ping.fm/XURN8

Hope everyone's having a great Earth Day! Check out this great writeup on the All New 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Projected to be the most fuel efficient luxury vehicle in America!

http://ping.fm/YYFEt

Island Club Members,
We are pleased to Announce that Island Gas BP is now back open after our recent upgrades. We're also now offering Diesel fuel! Come on in and enjoy full service gas at Cost!

Not an Island Club member? Visit www.islandlincolnmercury.com to find out how you can become a member of the Island Club!

A new Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study lends further evidence that voice-controlled Ford’s SYNC® helps drivers minimize electronics-related distractions compared to manually operating hand-held cell phones and music players.
The researchers found that participants took their eyes off the road an average of 10 times longer while manually selecting a song from their MP3 players compared to using SYNC’s voice commands
NEW YORK, April 9, 2010 – A new Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) study lends further evidence that voice-controlled Ford SYNC® helps drivers minimize electronics-related visual distractions compared to manually operating hand-held cell phones and music.

The study by VTTI – to be released April 15 in Detroit at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress during a panel discussion titled “Human Factors in Driving and Automotive Telematics” – supports the Institute’s growing body of research on driver distraction and as well as a similar Ford study in 2009.

In the new Ford-commissioned VTTI study, 21 drivers – age 19 to 51 who were familiar with SYNC – drove a Mercury Mariner while initiating a call, selecting music tracks and having phone conversations using the hands-free, voice controlled system. For the purpose of comparison, the participants also completed the same tasks manually using their own mobile phones and portable music players in the same vehicle.

The study concluded that drivers were able to dial and complete other tasks more quickly and with less time eyes-off-road time when using SYNC. At the same time, drivers manually operating phones and digital music players steered more erratically and looked away from the roadway for longer periods of time.

“This study suggests that keeping drivers’ eyes on the road as much as possible is important for maintaining safe vehicle control, which is in line with recent naturalistic driving research,” said Shane McLaughlin, Research Scientist, Center for Automotive Safety Research, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

When study participants initiated a call, hand-held operation required more than 2.5 times as many glances away from the road and more than 4 times longer in total eyes-off-road time than when drivers used SYNC. For MP3 player song selection, hand-held operation required more than 6 times as many task-related glances than SYNC, and took more than 10 times longer in total eyes-off-road time.

“We know that people are going to have phone conversations and listen to music while they drive, and this research backs up what most of us instinctively know – that while driving, it is better to place a call or select a song using a voice interface instead of doing it manually,” said Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering.

Real-world results
VTTI’s new study is consistent with the groundbreaking “100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study”, completed in 2005 for the U.S. Department of Transportation. The study followed 109 drivers for one year and tracked more than 42,300 hours of driving data collected with over 2 million miles driven.

The 100-Car Study concluded that manually dialing a hand-held device while driving – a task that requires looking away from the road –was almost 2.8 times riskier than normal driving. The study also showed that talking and listening on a phone while driving has a similar risk to normal driving.

“VTTI’s real-world and controlled study results indicate that SYNC’s voice interface offers substantial advantages compared to manually using a hand-held device to do the same task,” said Dr. Louis Tijerina, Ford senior technical specialist.

Labels: 2010 Land Rover LR4, Land Rover Merritt Island, lease

http://ping.fm/QtNMp

When performance is increased, it usually comes at the expense of fuel economy. But this isn’t the thinking behind Ford’s no-compromise approach to engineering. Excellent case in point: the new EcoBoost V6 engine.

The twin-turbocharged, direct-injection 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 delivers the horsepower of a normally aspirated V8 with the fuel efficiency of a normally aspirated V6.*

This engine is not only an achievement in exceptional power and efficiency. It’s also a product of the high quality and durability consumers have come to expect from Ford Motor Company.

What is EcoBoost™?


The power of a V8 and the fuel economy of a V6 – that’s what EcoBoost delivers. How is this achieved?


V8 power: The 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine features the enhanced performance of twin turbochargers. Power ratings are 355 horsepower (2010 Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS and MKT), 365 horsepower (2010 Taurus SHO), and 350 lb.-ft. of torque (all models).


V6 economy: The EcoBoost engine features the efficiency of direct-injection (DI) technology and is mated with a 6-speed automatic transmission calibrated for high low-end torque plus increased fuel economy at the higher overdrive gear. Also, the power steering system uses efficient electric actuation rather than a conventional belt accessory drive that draws power from the engine, even when the steering system is not being used.


High quality and durability.

To ensure the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine delivers quality performance, a team of engineers subjected it to an extensive battery of tests as part of the company’s engine “boot camp.”

The extensive testing to prove out the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine was accomplished through three avenues – using computer-aided engineering (CAE) models, in the lab with dynamometers, and on actual roads. Between tests on the dynamometer and in the field, EcoBoost engines have racked up the equivalent of more than 1 million miles of customer driving.

The rigid testing includes 20 individual dynamometer-level tests designed to push the engine to its limits. The testing protocol verifies the reliability of the complete engine system under maximum engine speeds and loads, coolant and oil temperature and customer driving patterns.

The road cycle durability test, for example, is designed to replicate real-world customer driving and vehicle maintenance patterns. For this test, engines with EcoBoost technology were subjected to 1,000 cold starts, along with sustained operation at peak torque and peak power. During the course of the test, engine coolant temperatures ranged from 12 degrees Celsius (about 53 degrees Fahrenheit) to 95 degrees Celsius (203 degrees Fahrenheit). In total, this single test required 1,000 hours of extreme engine operation, representing more than 60,000 miles of extreme customer driving.

Individual components underwent rigorous proving as well. EcoBoost’s twin turbochargers, for example, are designed to run at a very high temperature – up to 950 degrees Celsius (1,740 degrees Fahrenheit). Ford engineers proved out the turbochargers by running them at 950 degrees Celsius at maximum boost for 10 minutes and then “shocking” the turbos by running them at room temperature for 10 minutes. The tests were repeated continuously for hundreds of hours, under far more severe conditions than customers are expected to dish out.

Designed for a life cycle of greater than 150,000 miles or 10 years, EcoBoost’s turbochargers feature water-cooled bearing jackets. This architecture is designed to prevent oil “coking” that could occur in previous-generation turbochargers. The new design means that EcoBoost drivers don’t need to observe special operating precautions, such as idling the engine before switching it off.

EcoBoost also endured Ford’s standard engine durability test signoff, running at maximum revs and turbo boost for the equivalent of 15 straight days or 360 hours.

EcoBoost will be arriving this summer in the 2010 Lincoln MKS and MKT and the 2010 Ford Flex and Taurus SHO models – the first in a wave of EcoBoost engines coming as part of Ford’s strategy to bring affordable fuel efficiency improvements to millions.

NEW YORK -- Lincoln today introduces its first hybrid – the new 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid – a premium midsize car poised to be the most fuel-efficient luxury sedan in America.

Ford Motor Company – America’s largest domestic hybrid seller – is further broadening its aggressive electrification plan and second generation of hybrid technology with the new Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The vehicle is revealed today at the New York International Auto Show.

“Lincoln’s hallmarks are design, technology and comfort. Now, Lincoln also delivers the best fuel efficiency of any luxury sedan in America,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas.
Lincoln’s first-ever hybrid is expected to deliver at least 41 miles per gallon in the city when it goes on sale this fall.

The new premium midsize sedan hybrid joins Ford Motor Company’s growing lineup of hybrids, including the Ford Fusion Hybrid – 2010 North American Car of the Year and America’s most fuel-efficient sedan – plus the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Milan and Mariner Hybrids.

Introduction of the new Lincoln MKZ Hybrid also complements Ford’s aggressive global electrification plan. Ford is introducing five new electrified vehicles by 2013. They include the Transit Connect Electric in late 2010, the Focus Electric in 2011, a next-generation hybrid electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) in 2012, followed by another next-generation hybrid electric vehicle in 2013.

The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid’s projected fuel economy tops its nearest competitor – the 2010 Lexus HS 250h – by 6 mpg. It also trumps the Lexus with room for one more passenger and more standard luxury and segment-exclusive safety features